Average Teenager Drinks a Bathtub of Fizzy Drinks a Year

Do kids drink to many sugary drinks? Well according to the BBC and Cancer Research the answer is yes.

The UK National Diet Survey has revealed that preschool children drink the equivalent of 70 cans of fizzy cola a year. Children aged 4 to 10 drink 110 cans of cola style drinks a year, that is about half a bathtub, however, teenagers drink an astounding 234 cans worth of the fizzy stuff a year, that equates to a full bathtub of pop!

Even one glass of the fizzy stuff is pretty bad for you

When the new sugar tax comes into play in the UK in March soft drinks companies will pay a charge for drinks with added sugar and on drinks with a total sugar content of 5g or more per 100ml (about 5%). But drinks with a high milk content will not be taxed because milk contains calcium and other nutrients that the government says are “vital for a healthy diet”.

Cancer Research UK are still studying how this could affect younger lives in years to come. A year 6 pupil said “I drink coca-cola but this much a year! Who could drink this much?”

Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “The sugar levy [tax] is a good way to help cut intakes, but children get sugar from many sources.”

The YJA team found out that a five-year-old should have no more than 19g of sugar in a day, a 10-year-old no more than 24g, and teenagers and adults no more than 30g, which seems a lot but when you consider how much a can of fizzy pop contains it is quite easy to go over your recommended amount

3 Responses to Average Teenager Drinks a Bathtub of Fizzy Drinks a Year

WillJanuary 15, 2017 at 9:38 am

Awesome article Emily. Personally, I had no idea about how many fizzy drinks people around my age have a year, but now I know that is just far to much! I think that having a sugar tax is a fantastic idea (even though that most teenagers will be fairly angry as they drink so much sugary drinks!). Despite 234 cans worth of fizzy drinks going into a lot of teenagers, I can well believe that number as I also know that my 16-year-old brother drinks well over that number- I think he drinks pretty much 1 a day! To also know that Cancer Research UK are looking into it is quite a worry as they may be making links between the two.
Overall, a great article Emily packed full of facts that I had to no clue about!